Sampdoria go into this meeting with Fiorentina in good form, having taken maximum points from their last three games, performing in a similar fashion to the start of the season where they raced to the top of the table. Away wins to Udinese and Siena sandwich a home victory over Atalanta, sparking renewed enthusiasm and optimism of a Champions League push.

Viola fans, in contrast, are probably wondering where their next domestic victory is going to come from. Performing superbly in EuropeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s elite competition this year, many consider them to be ItalyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s best bet for a representative in the tournamentÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s last eight, yet they canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t seem to buy a win in the League.

Two points from a possible 12 on the back of already inconsistent form shown in the first half of the campaign has dropped Cesare PrandelliÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s side to 11th in the League. To put this into context, it means the Tuscan side are now seven points off Napoli in fourth, but just nine points off Lazio who occupy 18th.

With all the other teams in the mix for fourth spot, Champions League qualification is looking a seriously tough ask for Fiorentina, making a win this weekend of paramount importance.

Antonio Cassano, a reported Viola target during the January transfer window as a replacement for the suspended Adrian Mutu, remains ruled out with injury. The former Roma, Bari and Real Madrid man is joined by shot-stopper Luca Castellazzi on the sidelines, while on-loan Parma defender Marco Rossi is suspended.

Prandelli is once again denied the services of influential midfielder Cristiano Zanetti as injury rules the former Juve man out for yet another game, but he and Mutu are the only absentees for Fiorentina.

January signing Keirrison, signed on a two-year loan deal from Barcelona, should make it on to the bench for PrandelliÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s side. The young Brazilian showed great promise in Brazil but found himself marginalised on loan at Benfica earlier this season due to their abundance of forwards, and will be hoping for a chance to impress this weekend.

Keep an eye on: Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina) Ã¢â‚¬â€œ From a Viola perspective, the rot must be stopped if they harbour any ambitions of European football next season Ã¢â‚¬â€œ be that Champions or Europa League Ã¢â‚¬â€œ and Jovetic is the man to do it. MutuÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s suspension should see the Montenegrin move more in to the limelight with his undoubted talent Ã¢â‚¬â€œ if only he can stay fit for more than five minutes.

Inter have dropped points in three of the last five games and come up against a Sampdoria side that has won four on the bounce, but also defeated them earlier this season.

When these sides met at Marassi back on September 26, the Blucerchiati emerged with a 1-0 victory thanks to Giampaolo Pazzini. That result put Samp top of the table, but they soon plummeted down the standings with a dismal period of form.

However, since dropping Antonio Cassano they have been unstoppable, notching up four consecutive victories against Udinese, Atalanta, Siena and Fiorentina. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a run that has taken them into joint fourth place with Napoli.

Cassano is injured, so could not play even if Gigi Del Neri decided to recall him, but Nicola Pozzi is a major doubt due to a muscular problem. If he cannot make it, then Sampdoria could opt for a new 4-4-1-1 system with Fernando Tissone supporting lone centre-forward Pazzini. It allows them to further pack the midfield, which already includes Angelo Palombo and Under-21 international Andrea Poli flanked by the attacking Franco Semioli and Stefano Guberti.

Inter appear to have hit a bump in the road in recent weeks, as their rescheduled match with Parma ended in a 1-1 draw and they were fortunate to escape with a goalless stalemate from NapoliÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Stadio San Paolo. Although there was a strong penalty shout for a handling offence, it has to be said that the home team hit the woodwork twice and forced several fine saves out of Julio Cesar.

Those results have reduced their lead at the top of the table to Ã¢â‚¬ËœonlyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ seven points, something that certainly wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t worry Jose Mourinho. In fact, here he will be targeting a sixth consecutive Serie A home victory, as the last side to hold them at San Siro was Roma on November 8.

Inter are still without Cristian Chivu and Marco Materazzi, while Mario Balotelli and Davide Santon require fitness tests. The good news is that Dejan Stankovic has resumed full training after a month on the sidelines and he could even be given a starting berth in midfield. Samuel EtoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢o risks losing his starting spot due to the fine form of January signing Goran Pandev, who has formed an impressive partnership with Diego Milito and Wesley Sneijder.

Sampdoria have not won here since Roberto Mancini sealed a 4-3 thriller on December 15 1996, managing just three draws from the next 10 visits, including the Coppa Italia. The most worrying statistic is that the Blucerchiati havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even scored in the last four attempts.

Keep an eye on: Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria) Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Ã¢â‚¬ËœIl PazzoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ is the shining light for Samp this season and has already amassed 11 Serie A goals, including two from the penalty spot. The young striker has a good record against Inter, netting five times against them in his career with Atalanta, Fiorentina and Sampdoria.

Sampdoria fought back for the victory, but Lazio made a real stab at it even after Mauro Zarate's red card.

These two sides were Coppa Italia Finalists last season, but the Biancocelesti found themselves on the edge of the relegation zone. Edy Reja relaunched Mauro Zarate in a trident attack and dropped Francelino Matuzalem, while the injury list included Ousmane Dabo, Andre Dias, Pasquale Foggia, Julio Cruz, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabio Firmani. Samp welcomed back Giampaolo Pazzini and Nicola Pozzi from their bans, while Antonio Cassano found a spot on the bench two months after his injury. Reto Ziegler was suspended.

This fixture had ended in a draw just once since a spectacular 3-3 in April 1996 and finished goalless on only one occasion since 1976.

Lazio had a very strong start and took the lead when Sergio Floccari chested down a Zarate ball from the left, shrugged off Pietro Accardi and managed to bundle it over the line with the outside of his right boot.

The Blucerchiati drew level with a wonderful goal from ex-Roma winger Guberti. Angelo Palombo rolled a free kick across to the unmarked Guberti outside the D and he unleashed a right-foot rocket into the top corner.

Just seven minutes later Sampdoria were in the lead, as Semioli flicked up a ball from the edge of the box for Pazzini's secure right-foot volley in at the near post.

Lazio pushed back with Storari getting down to block a Rocchi angled drive and a Zarate cross-shot clipped the crossbar.

A corner fell to Stefano Lucchini at the back post, but the finish was inches wide. A spectacular Andrea Poli volley flashed just over the bar from a cleared corner kick.

Antonio Cassano made his comeback after almost two months, despite Coach Gigi Del Neri stating he would be slowly phased back in several weeks. Lucchini again turned a header just wide for Sampdoria.

Maybe it was the Marassi air, but Edy Reja was sent off for dissent, then Zarate got caught up in a 'Cassanata' when he took his protests too far and was sent off. Even after the card it took a while to remove him from the field and Cassano tried to calm him down.

Cassano's through ball released Poli, who fired straight at the goalkeeper in a one-on-one. At the other end Storari smothered a deflected Aleksandar Kolarov strike at the feet of Francelino Matuzalem.

10-man Lazio still went close to an equaliser in stoppages, as Storari beat away a Floccari screamer into the path of Stefano Mauri, who was then blocked off by Cacciatore.

Cassano nearly scored on the counter, but Nando Muslera did just enough to salvage the situation.

High-flying Bologna welcome Serie A revelations Sampdoria to the Renato DallÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ara hoping to claim another prestigious scalp following last weekendÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s win over Napoli.

Franco Colomba has done a really super job since his appointment and is about to renew his contract with the club. The Rossoblu have rapidly climbed up the table and now sit 11 points ahead of the relegation zone.

Antonio Cassano's strike from over 30 metres gives Sampdoria both the 1-0 victory over Juventus and joint fourth place.

This was the moment of truth for both sides, as the Bianconeri needed to get back on track after humiliating results against Siena and Fulham this week. Samp knew a result would put them right in the thick of the race for Champions League qualification. Back in October, the Blucerchiati were demolished 5-1 in Turin and out for revenge with Antonio Cassano's return to the starting XI, as Nicola Pozzi is out for the rest of the season.

Alberto Zaccheroni wielded the axe, dropping Felipe Melo, David Trezeguet, Antonio Candreva and Hasan Salihamidzic, bringing in Christian Poulsen, Alessandro The Waterboy and Vincenzo Iaquinta's first start since Week 8. The injury list included Gigi Buffon, tender Alex Manninger, Amauri, Paolo De Ceglie and Martin Caceres, though Giorgio Chiellini was back for the bench.

Nicola Legrottaglie nodded a The Waterboy corner over, while Cassano's first touch let him down when bursting through the defence to get on the end of Giampaolo Pazzini's low cross.

The Waterboy ran on to a chipped Diego pass and Marco Storari rushed off the line to slap the ball off his foot. Jonathan Zebina did well to block off Cassano's shot after a Pazzini knockdown.

Iaquinta allowed the ball to bounce in the box, but he scuffed his shot when clear on goal. The 2006 World Cup winner was again dangerous as Storari came flying out to smother the ball, then just failed to get on the end of Jonathan Zebina's cross.

Sampdoria had the best chance of the game so far on 35 minutes. A corner kick was nodded back into the middle by Stefano Lucchini for another Cassano header, but Claudio Marchisio got the crucial goalline clearance.

Fabio Cannavaro's header was straight at Storari, but he did better at the other end moments later with a perfectly-timed sliding tackle to stop Cassano going clear on goal.

Cassano turned to give it to Pazzini just inside the box and he too spun round to test Antonio Chimenti.

Sampdoria were pushing towards half-time and Guberti's pass allowed Cassano to spring the offside trap down the left channel, but Chimenti did well to rush out and spread his body.

After the restart Iaquinta's header thumped the post, but he was offside anyway. The striker made way for Trezeguet and The Waterboy's curler skimmed the bar. Cannavaro couldn't make enough contact with his acrobatic attempt at an overhead kick.

Samp created a wonderful chance when Pazzini surged forward and exchanged passes with Franco Semioli, but again scuffed the finish when one-on-one with Chimenti. Reto Ziegler's diving header was blocked on the line by Chimenti.

Cassano finally broke the deadlock with an absolutely extraordinary goal! He lifted his head to see Chimenti off the line and hit the half-volley from all of 35 metres out. The Juventus goalkeeper got his hands to it, but lost his balance and couldn't keep it out.

Momo Sissoko's header whistled wide of the near post, but Chimenti got it right when leaping across the goal to punch Daniele Mannini's snapshot out from under the bar.

Even young substitute Testardi tried to beat the 39-year-old goalkeeper with a shot on the bounce that Chimenti slapped away.

A Sampdoria side with the Champions League in their sights clash with a Bari outfit simply relishing every second they spend in Serie A.

BariÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s blip is over, and whilst it considerably reduced any hopes of European football they may have harboured, it did at least allow them to take stock of their amazing campaign and return to their swashbuckling best.

The Galletti play some absolutely gorgeous flowing football on their day Ã¢â‚¬â€œ not at all what you would expect from a newly promoted side operating on a relatively meagre budget. The Biancorossi are 11th, and without any relegation worries to consider they should be able to enjoy the rest of the season.

Despite BariÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s total football and formidable home record Sampdoria will be the favourites, as the Blucerchiati are in sparkling form. Gigi Del Neri has finally brought Antonio Cassano back from exile, and the unpredictable maestro celebrated by netting the winner against Juventus with an awe inspiring wonder goal on Sunday.

In the aftermath Del Neri seemed to suggest that Cassano had conformed to his way of thinking. Ã¢â‚¬Å“He fought hard, earned free-kicks and proved the difference that he can make,Ã¢â‚¬

Roma can almost taste the Scudetto now, but Antonio Cassano and Champions League chasing Sampdoria would love to throw a spanner in the works.

Last week's dramatic derby win against Lazio was a dream come true for Giallorossi fans. In one fell swoop Roma kept their title flame burning and landed their greatest rivals in big trouble at the opposite end of the table.

Just imagine how differently things could have turned out if Julio Sergio hadn't saved Sergio Floccari's penalty when Lazio led 1-0. The very fact that he did will have the fans believing I Lupi are destined to seal one of the most incredible Scudetto wins in Serie A history.

To put it in perspective Claudio Ranieri's charges were 5th in the standings as recently as mid-December. Now they're top and unbeaten in 23 league fixtures, having won the last six. They're still on course for the double, having scraped past Udinese in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi on Wednesday.

With Lazio's hurdle vaulted Sampdoria represent the toughest test left for Roma to face in the league.

The visitors from the North are in superb form and have the massive incentive of Champions League qualification for inspiration. With their mid-season iffy spell behind them Gigi Del Neri's men are ending the campaign like they started it, in mesmerising style. At present they're 4th, two points clear of Palermo, but the Sicilians could leapfrog Samp if they beat Milan on Saturday night.

The Blucerchiati have an exceedingly potent 'secret weapon' in the form of Antonio Cassano. The Bari brat would surely love to sabotage his old club's title challenge - he was a boyhood Inter supporter after all. Del Neri will also relish the opportunity for revenge after his ill-fated spell as Roma boss.

The big question for Ranieri is whether to stick with the 4-3-3 that patently didn't work in the first half of the derby, or the 4-2-3-1 that helped them turn the game around. He's likely to go with the latter, but will that mean excluding Francesco Totti again?

Keep an eye on: Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria) - FantAntonio has scored decisive goals against Juventus, Chievo, Genoa and Milan lately and will be desperate to do likewise at the Olimpico, although curiously he hasn't scored against former employers Roma since returning to Serie A.

Roma's Scudetto dream took a beating when Sampdoria came from behind with Giampaolo Pazzini's brace to win 2-1 at the Olimpico. It ends the 24-match unbeaten run and keeps the Blucerchiati in fourth.

Once again the Giallorossi played knowing Inter had already won, so only a victory would take back the top spot. It was further complicated by the fact Samp were in a similar boat, as Palermo's win recaptured fourth on Saturday. Antonio Cassano, Stefano Guberti and Coach Gigi Del Neri faced their former club, but Pietro Accardi and Nicola Pozzi were sidelined. Jeremy Menez was picked ahead of Luca Toni after the derby difficulties in handling that trident attack.

Menez had the first chance when chesting down an acrobatic Francesco Totti flick, forcing a save out of Marco Storari at the near post. From the resulting corner Juan's audacious overhead kick was just wide from six yards.

Mirko Vucinic skipped past two tackles down the left, but the pull-back was just too long for Totti. The move continued and Simone Perrotta's volley was well smothered by Storari.

Roma did break through after 14 minutes with their captain. Totti started and finished the move, combining with Vucinic down the left and carrying on into the box where he was able to side-foot home from eight yards. It was his first goal since January.

Cassano nodded over, but it was so nearly 2-0 as Vucinic's reverse ball found Totti unmarked to thump the upright with a touch from Storari.

Cassano was ready to equalise from close range, but Nicolas Burdisso threw himself at the ball to block the angled drive.

Storari got down to beat away a Menez strike and Totti volleyed the follow-up wide from an awkward position. Vucinic wanted a penalty for Luciano Zauri's handling offence, but he had chipped the ball up from very close range.

Vucinic and Menez exchanged several passes before the Frenchman fired wide, but Totti was unmarked and ignored at the back post. There was an odd moment just before half-time when Vucinic and Simone Perrotta were arguing over the Macedonian's refusal to pass, prompting Totti to step in and intervene.

Vucinic ran on to a through ball and flashed the angled drive across the face of goal. Storari seemed to get a hand to it, but the corner was not given.

Del Neri introduced both Fernando Tissone and Daniele Mannini for the second half. Tissone blasted over from distance, but it was Pazzini who got the goal for Sampdoria.

A chipped Cassano cross from the left found Pazzini relatively unmarked at the back post to nod in, as John Arne Riise left him with far too much space. and the header down went between Julio Sergio's legs.

Roma fought back immediately with dangerous headers from Menez and Juan. David Pizarro drilled wide and Menez struck the side-netting with a daisy-cutter.

Toni replaced Perrotta for the trident attack and nearly scored with his first touch! He got on the end of a Pizarro free kick at the back post and his header was well parried from point-blank range.

Toni did get the ball in the back of the net, but he was correctly flagged offside.

Vucinic sprinted from midfield on the counter and stayed on his feet after a tackle, but Storari pushed the ball off his foot. At the other end Julio Sergio was at full stretch to palm away a Franco Semioli strike.

Cassano limped off with cramp and it was now a Roma siege, as Storari fingertipped a Riise blockbuster over the bar.

However, Sampdoria struck on the counter-attack with Pazzini's second of the game. Daniele Mannini got down the left and rolled his cross low for Pazzini to tap in from close range, having got away from Riise.

Storari smothered a Daniele De Rossi strike in stoppages, but on the bench Philippe Mexes was spotted crying.

Poor old Samp last night. It looked like they'd done enough until that bolt from the blue. Over the two legs, though, I think the better side went through and Samp looked terribly tired for the last 25 minutes so it seemed likely they weren't quite going to get over the line with 20 to go. The product, I imagine, of being just a tiny bit earlier in the season than Bremen. And losing one of their subs a minute after he'd come on to give them some new energy certainly didn't help either. One of Pazzini's goals had a terrible deja vu to it for a Romanista - Cassano hanging it up beyond the far post, Pazzini winning the header against the fullback, and the 'keeper not doing quite as well as he should have to guard his near post. Text-book Samp.

Samp played very well in the first half, though, and might well have been another goal to the good at half-time. I just thought they faded from there and looked like they were running through treacle at times in the second half. It's pretty hard to get your conditioning just right when your league season hasn't even started but they certainly put up a brave fight.

Because of injuries and the turnover system, I didn't recognise a couple of the faces. Despite that, watching the way La Samp played the opening minutes of this match I reckoned I had chosen the best of the four featuring Italian clubs in the EL. When Cacciatore scored his beautiful headed goal off a pass by Koman, I even started to wonder if they could go on to an enjoyable away win.

Unfortunately from there it became more and more PSV attacking with Samp defending. Such a shame as I think they could with more adventure have gotten a second goal. Too much possession conceded. Any giallorossi reading this will expect me to mention Curci and possibly Guberti who was a late sub and didn't have a chance to really contribute.

Curci did nothing to make me change my opinion of him that he is a fine shot stopper, but until he learns to make sure he parries the ball out of harm's way, tries to catch more shots instead of punching, and just as importantly learns how to deal with high crossed balls, he undoes much of his praiseworthy work and commentators will always criticise him.

I'm disappointed that i doriani couldn't seal the away win but when you allow your opposition as much of the ball as PSV got, then the equaliser was always on...